Guardian of Vana'diel
by wolfmaster757
Summary: The two Camp Half-Bloods were never to meet. It was forbidden. But when Hera broke that rule, things changed. Now it is up to Jason and his friends from Camp Half-Blood to unite the two camps together with the help of one who has trained at both: Ryan.
1. Sword and Spear

"_Ryan Wolfe,"_ a voice called through the darkness.

"The hell do you want n—" Ryan began. He sat up in bed and looked over at something in the doorway. The figure before him wasn't exactly what he was expecting. "You're not… How did you…? Who the hell are you?"

A girl, about sixteen, was standing in the doorway to his bedroom. She had shoulder length spiky black hair and electric blue eyes. "My name is Thalia, I'm one of—"

"Artemis's Hunters?" he guessed. He got out of bed, grabbed his t-shirt in the floor, and put it on.

She studied him curiously as he got out of bed and put a shirt on. "What gave it away?" she asked.

He glanced over at her, and then walked to his closet. "Your eyes. You're the daughter of Zeus I've heard so much about."

Thalia gave him a death glare. "I am a Hunter of Artemis before I am a daughter of Zeus."

"Whatever…" he mumbled. He was digging around the back of his closet for something. When he remained silent, Thalia spoke up.

"What are you looking for?"

He continued to rummage through his closet, not paying her any attention. Finally, a smile crossed his face, telling Thalia he found what he was looking for. "This," was all he said. In his hand was, what appeared to be, a black ring box. A white crescent moon was on top, followed by words written in a strange language.

"What is that?" she asked.

He opened the ring box and, not to her surprise, there was a ring in it. He slipped it on, threw the box on his bed, and held out his hand. "A gift from the gods," he replied. Suddenly, a bright light filled the room. And not just any kind of light, either; moonlight. The light died down not a second later. Thalia's eyes widened.

"Impressive, huh?" he asked.

Thalia couldn't believe what she was seeing. "Why…? How…?" She couldn't figure out which questions to ask first. They made eye contact for a brief second and she knew what her first question should be. "Just who are you?"

In his right hand was a sword that Thalia had only heard of in legend. A black blade, so dark it almost blended in with the surrounding darkness. If it wasn't for the moonlight, she wouldn't have been able to see it. The blade itself was curved, resembling the crescent moon. There was something carved on both sides: on one side was the same writing as from the box, which was completely illegible to Thalia; the other side, however, had writing on it that Thalia could translate – Greek.

She read the words over and over in her mind, trying to convince herself that really was what it said it was. The more she thought about it, the more she realized it had never crossed her mind to ask her dad, nor her uncle, if the blade truly existed.

"Mind if I ask a question, Thalia?"

With that, her concentration broke. "You never answered mine," was her response. "And it is Lieutenant Thalia, to you."

Lowering his blade, he sighed. "Well, that answers that." He looked down at the blade, his eyes scanning it like he'd never seen it before. "Guess that's what she gets for acting so high, mighty, and bi—"

"Do NOT finish that sentence," Thalia warned, holding her spear less than a half inch from his throat. "Zoë was one of the best. I will not tolerate anyone who speaks ill of her."

He just stared at the weapon. "A spear, huh?" he mused. "Haven't fought a spear-user in quite some time." He continued to stare at it, as if a lost memory was slowly coming back to him. "Ah ha!"

He backed up, threw the blade on the bed, and began going through his closet again. It didn't take long, and this time he pulled out a necklace box. "I had almost forgotten about this thing," he said to himself.

Thalia cocked her head in amusement. "Now what in the gods name do you have now?"

He held it up and smiled. It looked just a simple dog-tag, but with a simple Greek symbol on it. Thalia pulled back her spear and watched in amusement. He put it on, moved back about a foot from Thalia, unclipped it from the chain, and held his hand out in the same manner as before. This time, he held a six foot spear in his hand.

Thalia's jaw dropped. _Not one, but TWO legendary weapons that history had forgotten about. TWO! And he has them?_ Thalia said to herself. "Just who in Hades are you?"

He released the spear and it turned back into a dog-tag, and then clipped it to the chain on his neck. He glanced over at his bed—Thalia's gaze followed—and then looked back at Thalia. In that brief time, the crescent blade returned to his hands. Thalia was almost speechless. Almost.

"That's right, I never formally introduced myself." He cleared his throat. "The name's Ryan. I'm the guardian of Vana'diel."

* * *

A/N: So, whatcha think? I'm gonna be updating soon, hopefully. I'm almost done reading _The Lost Hero_, so as soon as i finish that, I'm gonna update! Hope everyone enjoyed!


	2. The Hunters

_The only thing worse than traveling with Artemis's Hunters: shopping with Aphrodite's children,_ Ryan kept said to himself. _I'll take the Hunters over the shopaholics any day. Still…_

Even though he preferred being with the Hunters, he still didn't have an easy feeling. At different times, they'd all glace at him and glare at him, like he was this disease they were afraid of getting. Or that he was going to attack them, and do vial things to them. Thalia was the only one who didn't look back at him or glare at him.

_If they only knew…_ Ryan began thinking back to that day. His trip down memory lane was short lived, however.

"Ryan?" Thalia called. He ran faster to catch up with her. "The girls feel…uncomfortable around you. Lady Artemis said something about you having another form you can take?"

"You don't seem all that affected," he pointed out.

"I haven't been away from guys as long as they have," she pointed out. "Plus…"

"Plus what?"

"…the one guy I really liked, well he turned evil and is now dead."

Ryan felt bad. He wasn't expecting that. He took a deep breath, and then sighed. Nodding, he ran faster, creating about a six foot difference between him and the Hunters. "Even though my form changes, I'm still male," He shouted back at Thalia. She rolled her eyes and motioned for him to hurry up. "Hunters…" he sighed.

He began taking steady breaths, and crossed his hands over his chest, with his palms out and fingers bent in to look like claws. "Relieve this man from his story/ unleash the wolf in all his glory."

A dark sphere covered his body, encasing him in what looked like a black egg. On the egg was a crescent moon. The moon began to go through its different phrases until it stopped at the full moon. As it did, cracks formed on the moon and then shattered. Before Thalia and the Hunters was a black wolf. The wolf slowed down for Thalia to catch up.

"Ryan?"

"Yep…" he replied, his voice much deeper.

"Wow…" was all she could say. The other Hunters gasp, completely shocked.

"What?" he asked them, looking behind him. He turned to Thalia. "What's the problem?"

Thalia's jaw dropped, for the second time within an hour. _Impossible…_ she kept saying to herself. _That just isn't possible!_

Ryan's wolf form was definitely something to behold: he was completely black, except for his paws which were white. On the middle of his back was an arrow, going from his left back leg to his right front leg. His eyes were a blue-silver-gray color, changing every few seconds. But, the most interesting feature was the silver crescent moon on his forehead.

"How…exactly did you get that form?" Thalia asked.

Ryan looked away, focusing on the path before him. "I can't tell you…" Before Thalia could protest, he spoke up. "Ask that goddess of yours. She knows. Don't know if she'll tell you, though…"

"I will," Thalia assured him. "Artemis tells me everything. I am her lieutenant, after all."

Ryan snorted. "And how long have you realized you were a half-blood?"

Thalia glared at him. "What do you mean?"

"You of all people should know by now: your father is Zeus, for gods sake. The gods and goddesses have secrets that they refuse to talk about; and some are even downright forbidden to even thing about, much less speak." Ryan's eyes were now a metallic-blue. "Take in example 1864."

Thalia's expression changed from annoyed to confuse. "1864? The Civil War?"

"What do you really know about it?"

Thalia thought for a moment before answering. "The bloodiest war in America; North versus South; fought over slavery."

Ryan laughed. "Right; right; wrong."

"What do you mean wrong?"

"The American Civil War was fought between the North and South, over states' rights; not slavery," Ryan said.

"So what does that have to do—?"

"Wars as bloody as the American Civil War are demigod related."

"Demigod related?" But before she could ask more, one of her Hunters came running up to her.

"Thalia," the girl said. Ryan recognized her as the one Thalia called Phoebe. She handed Thalia a scroll. "My apologies for interrupting your conversation with…" she glanced down at Ryan, "…him, but this came for you from Lady Artemis."

Thalia took the scroll, thanked her, and then dismissed her. She opened the scroll, and then commanded the Hunters to stop. For about five minutes everyone stood still as Thalia read the message. Once she finished, she turned to address the Hunters.

"I have received news from Lady Artemis. We are to report to Camp Half-Blood, immediately. It seems something has come up that requires out attention," she announced. The Hunters didn't look too happy.

"What about me?" Ryan asked.

Thalia looked down at him, and smiled. And Ryan knew why: _questions, questions, and more questions._

"You're to go with us."


	3. Waiting

Jason stood near the entrance of Camp Half-Blood, watching and waiting in anticipation. Chiron had approached him and his friends Piper, Leo, and Annabeth that he received an Iris message informing him the Hunters of Artemis were going to arrive at Camp Half-Blood.

That had been about an hour ago, right before lunch. Jason's anticipation had caused him to lose his appetite; in its place, excitement and dread. On one hand, Jason was excited to see his sister again. They hadn't really had all that much time to talk while he was on his quest. On the other hand, however, he dreaded what more his sister had to say about their family and, most of all, their mother.

As he stood there, gazing into the valley, someone approached from behind. Jason turned to face whoever it was.

"You need to eat something," a teenage girl with blond hair said. She handed him a pack of crackers and a can of Coke. "Here."

"Thanks, Annabeth," he mumbled.

"Nervous about seeing Thalia again?" She asked.

"Kinda…"

Annabeth walked over to Peleus, the dragon that guarded the Golden Fleece that hung from Thalia's Pine Tree. "Don't be," she said, trying to comfort him.

_Easy for you to say,_ he thought. He opened the crackers and ate one. He wasn't sure what to say next. Instead, he just watched Annabeth as she petted the dragon's snout. She had dark rings under her eyes, and it was easy to see that she hadn't been sleeping well. Jason had a feeling he knew why.

"Percy?" he asked.

Annabeth didn't turn to face him. "Yeah…"

_Thought so._

"Maybe Thalia knows the location of the Roman version of this place," Jason said, trying to reassure her.

Annabeth sighed. "You remember what Hera said, Jason." She walked over towards him, leaned up against one of the columns, and then slid down so she was sitting on the ground. "You're the only one who knows how to get there. Besides, you even said that the place had a really powerful magical barrier around it. The Hunters are good, but, from what you've said, there is no way they could have found it."

"Annabeth, I'm—"

"Don't apologize," she interrupted him. "You haven't done anything wrong."

_Then why do I feel like I have?_ A voice in the back of Jason's head brought up.

Jason decided to keep his mouth shut. He walked over to the other column and sat down against it. He kept his gaze on the valley, hoping Thalia would show up soon. She was suppose to have come for the Cabin Leader's meeting, but was a no show.

Jason took a deep breath and sighed.

"Aggravating, huh?" a very familiar voice asked. Jason turned to see Piper walking towards him. She sat down next to him and smiled. "I know the feeling. I remember getting home from those schools my dad would send me off to and no one would be there. Then dad would call and say he'd be home in thirty minutes. Thirty minutes easily turned into two, sometimes three hours. I'd just sit there, waiting anxiously, and very aggravated, till he got home. The most I ever had to wait was about six hours."

Dread passed over Jason. "Six hours…?"

Piper waved her hands franticly. "That isn't to say it'll take Thalia and the Hunters that long to get here! Not what I was trying to say at all!"

Jason smiled at her. "Thanks, Piper."

She smiled back. Then, a look of concern crossed her face. She reached into her pocket and pulled out something. "This is for you. Leo told me to give it to you."

She held out a silver chain with two strange items on it: a gear and lug nut, both made of celestial bronze.

"What is it?"

"These are parts of Festus that Leo was able to salvage." She held out her arm to reveal a bracelet with a gear and lug nut dangling on it, like charms. "He figured you'd prefer a necklace."

Jason took the necklace with gratitude. He held it up so it shined in the sunlight. "I need to thank him. Where is Leo?"

"Bunker 9."

"The Argo II…" Jason said. Jason wasn't exactly thrilled with the name. He was less thrilled with what the ship was to be used for.

"Don't think about it," Piper said, as if reading his thoughts.

Jason turned to look down the valley again. "I'll…" his voice faded out.

"Jason?" Piper asked. She looked in the direction he was. Annabeth, too. "What is that…?"

A bit of Jason's memory began to return, and it wasn't good either.

"It's the Hunters," Annabeth said, standing up. "But, what's with the wolf? Artemis's wolves are white."

Jason stood and drew his gladius. "That isn't one of Diana's wolves."


	4. Welcome to Camp

"Welcoming party?" Ryan said as he and the Hunters neared the entrance to Camp Half-Blood. As they neared, he noticed one had a drawn sword. Not just any kind of sword, either. _A gladius? That's unusual for a Greek soldier._

As they got closer, Ryan noticed a smile cross Thalia's face.

"You know the kid with the sword?"

She glanced down at him. "He's my brother."

"Brother? Zeus had another kid?"

Thalia nodded. "We even share the same mother."

"You what?" Ryan gasped. That's when he felt his paw hit a rock and he went into a fury of flips. But, with grace, he was able to end the flips and keep running. "Totally did that on purpose."

Thalia laughed. "Keep telling yourself that."

About four feet before crossing the barrier, Ryan stopped dead in his tracks.

"Jason? What are you doing?" Thalia and a dark-haired girl asked.

Ryan gulped. Jason had his sword pointed right at him, barely an inch from his snout. "Lupa's saving Grace."

As soon as he said that, Jason's guard dropped slightly. Ryan jumped backwards, making sure he was far out of Jason's reach. "You're losing your touch, child of Rome. I think this place is making you soft."

Electricity surged over his body. Jason made a move forward, but Thalia stopped him. Their eyes met and they seemed to communicate telepathically. Jason sheathed his sword, but continued to gaze at Ryan. Thalia then whispered something in his ear. Jason turned around, took one last glance at Ryan, and then headed back in to Camp Half-Blood. The dark-haired girl followed.

Thalia turned to him. "What the Hades was that?"

"You never told me he was the son of Jupiter," Ryan said calmly, though his voice more stern.

"What does it matter? Zeus, Jupiter, they're one in the same," she pointed out.

"You're wrong, Thalia Grace," Ryan said. He looked to see Jason as he just disappeared over the hill. "The gods of Greece are immoral; don't really care about anyone but themselves. Their Roman counterparts, however, are much stricter and have little to no contact with humans. Think of it as hippies and marines; one is lax and does whatever they want, while the other is strict and only breaks the chain of command when absolutely necessary."

Thalia didn't say anything. The blond-headed girl, who had been standing at the entrance, stepped forward. "What makes the Romans more wore-like?"

Ryan looked at the girl and could smell her half-blood sent. "I'm surprised you don't know, Daughter of Athena." The girl looked taken back at that. "The Romans favor Mars, Ares' Roman form, more. The thrill of war and battle excites them. A total opposite from the Greeks, who favor your mother." The blond-haired girl looked like she had a question. "Yes, Annabeth?"

Annabeth's eyes grew wide. "How did you—"

The sound of hooves pounding on the ground caught everyone's attention. They all turned to see Chiron galloping towards them. He stopped right at the entrance. He scanned the crowd and, when he saw Ryan, his gaze stopped.

"It must be worse than I expected if you were summoned," Chiron said.

"Good to see you, too," Ryan commented, somewhat sarcastically. "May I enter?"

"You remember the rules: not in that form."

Ryan nodded. "Seal the wolf from his glory/ Return the man to his story."

Everyone watched in awe as the wolf transformed back into his human form. Everyone but Chiron seemed phased.

Once back in his human form, Ryan walked through the camp entrance. A small zap could be heard as he entered. He stopped walking as soon as it sounded. "Still no trust, huh?"

Chiron sighed. "It is for protection."

"Protection?" Annabeth asked.

"Yep," Ryan confirmed. He motioned at the camp. "Yours and theirs."

"And why would the campers need protection?" Thalia questioned.

Ryan didn't turn to look at her. "Cause last time I was here, I killed someone."


	5. Catch Up

_Meet me in the Zeus cabin,_ Thalia had wispered to Jason. _Say nothing to no one._

"Jason, you okay?" Piper asked, breaking Jason out of his trance.

He didn't look at her. "I don't know," he answered truthfully. It was bad enough that his memory had been stolen by Juno, but now bits and pieces were starting to come back and none of them were good.

As he and Piper continued to the cabins, one of Piper's sisters came up to her. Both she and Jason stopped. "Sorry to bother you two," she apologized, "but we need you to resolve something for us, Piper."

Piper looked at Jason. "Will you be okay?"

"I'll be fine," he tried to reassure her. "Thalia is gonna meet with me soon, anyway."

Piper nodded, though Jason could tell she really didn't want to leave his side. "Okay. Then I'm gonna headed back to my cabin to resolve whatever crap Drew's brought up again."

With that, Piper and her sister headed towards the Aphrodite Cabin.

Jason silently made his way to Zeus's cabin. Once there, he walked over to the spot he slept at, away from the gaze of the Zeus statue. He sat down and tried think of where he knew that wolf from. _Think Jason, think,_ he kept saying to himself.

The more the thought about it, the more the memories got foggier. He remembered that wolf was _special_, though he didn't know what Lupa meant by that. He was more powerful than a demigod, but not as powerful as a god.

_He is the blessing and curse of the gods,_ Lupa had told him once. _The only one to have _her_ as a patron._

"Who is _her_?" he asked himself as he stretched out and looked upwards at the ceiling. Storm clouds formed and lightening could be seen flickering through them. The sound of lightening cracking was soothing to Jason. Before he knew it, he was fast asleep.

The sound of the door slamming woke Jason up immediately. He bolted up and drew his sword. It met with a clang on a celestial bronze shield.

"Thalia?"

"You're definitely a warrior," she said, smiling. She retracted the shield into her bracelet. He sheathed his sword as she sat down next to him. She frowned. "What's the matter?"

"Where have you been?" Jason asked.

Thalia sighed. "I'm sorry, Jason. Lady Artemis had us continue tracking that werewolf. When the trail cut off and we could follow no longer, the goddess had us locate…"

"Ryan?" Jason guessed.

"How did you know his name?"

"When I saw him," Jason explained, "parts of my memory started coming back to me. He and I have fought before, but I can't remember what the outcome was."

"What else do you know about him?"

Jason thought for a moment. "Lupa said he was 'special'; more powerful than a demigod, but not at the level of a god. Also, he is the only one to have 'her' as his patron."

"'Her'?" Thalia questioned. Jason shrugged.

Silence covered the room. The only sound was the lightening cracking overhead. This was the first time Jason had noticed how late it was. _9:00, at the latest,_ he said to himself.

"Well, for now, let's forget about all this," Thalia broke the silence. "I'm not sure how long I'll be here, so let's catch up; get to know each other more. I've got permission to sleep in her with you, since Zeus is also my dad. I want to know all that you know, everything you remember from your past life."

Jason smiled. "Okay. I want to know more about our family, as well as what happened to you after we got separated."

Thalia smiled. "Then you're in for a long night."


	6. Lost and Found

A/N: Hey everyone! So sorry it has been so long since I last updated. Things have been crazy... Anyway, I'm back to writing fanfic! I'm hoping to keep this one updated once a week. My Yu-Gi-Oh! one also. Please R&R! I'm very interested in any/all feedback about this chapter!

Thanks again for all the reviews! I hope this doesn't disappoint!

-wolfmaster757

* * *

Ryan stood on the front porch of the Big House, looking at the cabins. Chiron was in his wheelchair. The daughter of Athena, Annabeth, on his right and another girl, who introduced herself as the new Oracle of Delphi, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, on his left. Thalia stood three feet to Ryan's right.

"Very impressive," Ryan said. "So the Hermes Cabin is no longer insanely crowded. Bet that makes things easier on the campers. So this is what Poseidon's brat asked for from Zeus."

No one said anything. Apparently, the topic of Percy Jackson was still touchy.

Ryan turned around and looked at Rachel. "And you're the new oracle, huh?" He smiled. "Things really have changed around here. By the way, Ms. Rachel, how are Mr. William and Mrs. Clare?"

Rachel looked dumbfounded; Ryan had thrown her a curve ball, asking how her parents were. Before she could say anything, however, Chiron spoke up. "Let us play catch-up later. We need to know the gods plans. Why is it that you are here?"

"Same old Chiron," Ryan sighed. Then his facial expression got serious, as did his tone. "Rome and Greece must unite."

Chiron's eyes narrowed. "What has happened that you are brought into the middle of it?"

Ryan looked up at the ceiling, gathering his thoughts. "I honestly don't know." His gaze didn't leave the ceiling. "I've been trying to figure it out ever since Ms. Goth over here kidnapped me."

"I did not kidnap you!" Thalia protested. "I was under orders from—"

"Thalia," Chiron spoke calmly. "He's testing you."

Thalia's expression blanked, and there was a long silence before she said anything. "What do you mean?"

Ryan kept his gaze upwards. "Lady Artemis is my patron."

Dead silence. Absolute dead silence. No one said a word. More accurately, no one knew what to say. Annabeth, Rachel, and Thalia were in complete shock.

Suddenly, Thalia grabbed Ryan by the shirt collar. Ryan didn't budge. "LIAR! HOW DARE YOU—"

"Thalia!" Chiron yelled. "Let go of him! He speaks the truth!"

Thalia released her grip and took a few steps back. "Chiron… Are you mad?! There is no way Lady Artemis is his patron! He's a guy!" Thalia glanced at him, giving him a death glare, and then turned back towards Chiron. "I refuse to believe it!"

"Believe what you will," Ryan said. "Lady Artemis is my patron. I swear to it on the River Styx. If I speak lies, may Zeus strike me down."

Everyone, except Chiron, took a few steps back. After a minute passed, Ryan raised his arms up and stretched. "See?"

They all stood in shock.

"As he said," Chiron began, "Ryan's patron is indeed Lady Artemis."

"How?!" Annabeth and Thalia asked.

"Short version or long version?" Ryan asked Chiron. Chiron shrugged.

"Long it is then," Ryan sighed. "Twelve years ago, my parents and I lived in Italy. You see, my parents are archeologist. They had been contacted by some big museum to do a dig close to the original Mount Olympus. I was twelve at the time."

"Wait," Rachel interrupted. "Your last name… It's Wolfe, right?" Ryan nodded. "And you just said your parents are archeologist?" Again, Ryan nodded. "Your parents… No… It's not possible… Are you…?"

"Rachel, what's wrong?" Annabeth asked.

Rachel shook her head. "They said… But…"

Ryan smiled. "Figured out who I am, huh?"

Rachel got teary eyed. She took a few steps forward. "Dylan? Dylan Ryan Wolfe?" Ryan nodded. Rachel leaped towards him, grabbing him by the waste. "I knew you were alive! I knew it!"

Thalia and Annabeth exchanged looks; both knowing exactly want they wanted to ask.

After a few more minutes, Rachel let go. "Everyone…everyone forgot about you. How?"

"The Mist," Ryan and Chiron said together.

Rachel turned around. "You knew?"

Chiron nodded. "Believe it or not, I knew it the moment that I met you. The two of you share a very similar scent."

"Hang on!" Thalia spoke up. She was getting a little impatient. "Gods… I'm so confused… How do you two know each other?! And what do you mean everyone 'forgot?'"

"Rachel is my cousin," Ryan explained. Thalia and Annabeth flinched. "My mother's last name was 'Dare' before she married my father."

"Her name is Holly. She's my dad's older sister. And her husband's name is Mark," Rachel explained. Annabeth nodded in understanding. Thalia just crossed her arms.

"As for why everyone forgot, I'll explain," Ryan began, again.

Chiron wheeled towards him. "How about we save that for tomorrow. I believe there are others who need to know who you are, don't you agree Thalia?"

Thalia didn't say anything at first, still trying to process that Ryan and Rachel were cousins. "Yeah," she finally said. "Jason needs to hear this."

"Piper and Leo, also," Annabeth brought up.

"Then we shall dismiss for now and meet in the morning. Say, 10 AM in the conference room? That should give everyone plenty of time to have breakfast and be awake."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Ryan, you may have the guest bedroom in the Big House. Rachel, you are welcome to stay with him. There are two beds in there."

Ryan and Rachel bowed. "Thank you, Chiron," they said together.

Rachel said her goodbyes to Annabeth and Thalia.

"Let's go catch up!" She said to Ryan. He nodded, and the two cousins walked into the big house with Chiron wheeling in behind them.


	7. Ryan's Past, Part 1

Ryan looked around the room at everyone there. Almost all the cabin leaders were there: Cabin 1 (Zeus), Jason Grace; Cabin 4 (Demeter), Miranda Gardiner & Katie Gardner; Cabin 5 (Ares), Clarisse La Rue; Cabin 6 (Athena), Annabeth Chase; Cabin 7 (Apollo), Will Solace; Cabin 8 (Artemis), Thalia Grace; Cabin 9 (Hephaestus), Leo Valdez; Cabin 10 (Aphrodite), Piper McLean; Cabin 11 (Hermes), Connor & Travis Stoll; Cabin 12 (Dionysus), Pollux; Cabin 14 (Iris), Butch; Cabin 15 (Hypnos), Clovis; and Cabin 20 (Hecate), Lou Ellen.

The only leaders missing were Cabin 3 (Poseidon), Percy Jackson; and Cabin 13 (Hades), Nico di Angelo.

And, according to what Rachel said, Nico di Angelo comes and goes whenever he wants.

"We have no idea where he is, or where he goes. Or when in Hades he'll be back," Rachel had said.

_Percy Jackson, MIA. Nico di Angelo, traveling/missing. Jackson's understandable. di Angelo, not so much. Lupa would so not be pleased with this camp…_ Ryan thought as he looked at the two empty seats.

"Everyone, quiet down," Chiron bellowed. The room got quiet fast. "Thank you."

Chiron wheeled his chair to the head spot and motioned for Ryan to stand next to him on his left. "As everyone is aware, we have a visitor who showed up yesterday, along with the Hunters. I am going to have him speak to all of you shortly. Before we begin, however, I must inform you all that this man is to play an important role with our battles against Gaia and her children. Listen to everything he has to say."

Everyone was quiet. Several of the cabin leaders nodded.

"Then, without further ado, I introduce you to Ryan Wolfe," Chiron said. He wheeled backwards and moved to where Ryan was standing as Ryan moved to where Chiron has been. A seat was brought up from behind and Ryan sat down.

"As Chiron said, my name is Ryan Wolfe," Ryan began. He looked over at Rachel, who was sitting next to him, and then back to everyone else. "And I am Rachel's cousin."

Several people in the room looked stunned. They all began to whisper amongst themselves. After a few minutes, Chiron got them quiet again.

"So, that's it?" Clarisse, daughter of Ares, asked. "How in the gods name is he suppose to help us?"

"Maybe if you'd shut up, we'll know," Thalia smarted back.

Before Clarisse could react, Ryan stood from his chair and extended his right arm. A curved black blade appeared. It was pointed right at the daughter of Ares.

"I highly recommend you stay seated, and keep that temper in check, daughter of Ares," Ryan said. Clarisse relaxed her body, though it was easy to tell she was still pissed.

"As for you, Lieutenant..." Ryan said no more to Thalia. It was easy to tell through eye contact what he was saying to her.

Ryan dismissed his blade and sat down. Everyone was now fully awake and paying attention.

"Now then, as I was saying, I am Rachel's cousin. I am also the Guardian of Vana'diel." No one reacted. Ryan continued. "I am fairly sure that none of you have even heard of Vana'diel." Still, no one said anything.

"Vana'diel is a temple for the gods. Actually, it is THE temple; it is a very sacred and secretive place of the gods. Vana'diel is they're resting place during the times in which no one believes in them. It is where the gods go to in order to survive. There are several gods already in Vana'diel now, resting until the time has come that people believe in them again."

"Like Pan?" Annabeth asked.

Ryan smiled. "Exactly. You see, this place has been around since Zeus created his first council. It is buried deep under Mount Olympus."

"If it's under Mount Olympus, how come we've never heard of it? And how is it such a secret?" Leo, son of Hephaestus, asked, interrupting. Piper, daughter of Aphrodite, elbowed him in the stomach. Leo gave her a 'the crap was that for?' look.

"Excellent questions, son of Hephaestus," Ryan pointed out. Leo grinned. "You see, the location of this place was to remain a secret, even amongst the most noble of demigods. Only a few actually know about it. The reason is this: if Mount Olympus is ever destroyed, the gods can go to Vana'diel to recover and regroup. Basically, it is a backup plan.

"If this place is ever destroyed, however, it would mean their end. Zeus decreed that only a select number of demigods were to ever know about this place. He, along with the council, also agreed that the location to this place would be locked away, deep below Mount Olympus; to get there, one would have to face several challenges, including the path down which is through a maze.

"All the gods were confident no one would ever discover it. Too confident, however. During the time when Athens was receiving its name, a young girl named Maya discovered the door to the maze that led to Vana'diel. The gods found it amusing; their confidence in her being capable of finding Vana'diel was zero. You see, several before her had found it; all of which were male and all of which died trying to get through the maze and the challenges that were in them.

"When Maya did make it all the way though, however, the gods were afraid. Their first instinct was to kill her. It was Lady Artemis who came up with a better idea. She told Zeus to make Maya a protector of their sacred temple. Zeus agreed and, because she came up with the idea, made Artemus the patron god. Thus, Maya became the first Guardian of Vana'diel: the last line of defense against anyone who tries to enter without permission. And, since Maya, there have been other guardians, all of which have been female...until me."

"So that's why Lady Artemis is your patron," Thalia spoke up. "But, if all the guardians have been female since the beginning, why were you chosen to be one?"

"Because I was able to navigate through the maze and the obstacles that were in it. It is my natural 'gift,'" Ryan answered.

"'Gift?' What do you mean?" Annabeth asked.

Ryan closed his eyes, focusing all his thoughts. "It was eighteen years ago when I discovered that I could see through the mist. I was six...

"My parents are archeologist, specializing in Ancient Greek and Roman. We were in Greece. My parents had signed a really big contract with one of Greece's national museums; the contract included an archeological dig near the base of Mount Olympus. It was during the dig my parents stumbled upon a hidden treasure chest. Within the chest was a ring that had an emerald as the center stone. Carved into the stone was the symbol for Taurus. My parents were astounded! You see, the ring they found was one of twelve legendary Zodiac rings thought to only exist in legend.

"Their discovery was huge, and it brought about every archeologist studying in the same field as my parents, as well as every known collector. Because of their success, the museum awarded them extra time to dig further in hopes of finding the other eleven. It was during the second week of the dig when a man showed up.

"I remember distinctly; he was wearing a black Italian made suit, a black fedora, shiny Italian leather shoes, a black dress shirt, a silver and black stripped tie, and a silver watch on his left wrist. In his right hand was a brief case. His most distinct feature was the lion's tail, which was attached to him. He introduced himself as Linus McArthur.

"My parents assumed he was there to try and purchase the ring, which wasn't gonna happen. However, McArthur said he wasn't there to try and buy the ring; instead, he had a proposition for my parents. He opened the brief case, revealing the other eleven Zodiac rings. He told them that he would happily give my parents the rings if they helped him find something: a door. Not just any door, however. Linus McArthur was looking for the door to Vana'diel."

Without any warnings, horns began blowing in the background.

"Lunch time already, huh?" Chiron looked at his watch. "We will dismiss for lunch and resume this meeting at 1, agreed?" Everyone nodded. "Then it is settled. Dismissed."


End file.
